The Leader of the Pack
by TheTimeTravelingNinja
Summary: Tori is a square who takes a liking to a troublemaker from the "wrong" side of town. It was all over before it even started. Set in the 1950's. Warning: Not A Very Happy Ending.


**A/N: This is nowhere near mine. Someone else wrote this and I, being a Jori lover, am "borrowing" it and adjusting it to fit Jori world so other Jori fans can enjoy it… and cuz I got bored at two in the morning. No infringement intended, solely for entertainment purposes!**

**Summary: ****Tori is a square who takes a liking to a troublemaker from the "wrong" side of town. It was all over before it even started. Warning: Not a very happy ending. Set in the 1950's.**

* * *

**-Hollywood Arts: 1950's-**

Tori Vega strolled the halls of Hollywood Arts High School in a loose pink blouse and black and white polka dot skirt that ended just below her knees. She sighed as she fidgeted with the small ring that adorned her right ring finger. The band was made of faux gold, and the small stone was a princess cut of cubic zirconium. The ring was not all that valuable to the outside world, but to Tori, it was the greatest gift anyone had ever given her.

She wandered absentmindedly to her locker, thinking about the previous day when she was given the ring, before a voice pulled her back to reality.

"Hey, Tori!" The girl's best friend, Cat caught up to her. Cat wore an almost identical outfit, only her hair was in a side ponytail and she wore bright red knee socks, to match her hair.

"Morning, Cat." Tori responded dreamily.

Cat looked at what her friend's attention was drawn to and her eyes widened in delight.

"Say, is that Jade West's ring you're wearing?"

All Tori could do was bite her lower lip and nod as she smiled.

"Uh-huh." She answered, "Jade gave it to me last night when she asked me to go steady."

"Oh wow. That's so great! I'm happy for you!" Cat burst with joy and clung herself tightly to Tori in a celebratory hug.

"Thanks, Cat. She makes me _so_ happy..." Tori's voice drifted off as she remembered the night before.

* * *

**-Flashback: The night before-**

"_Thanks for walking me home, Jade." Tori smiled as the two walked up to her front door. They had just ridden Jade's motorcycle back from the diner across town._

"_Ah, it's nothing. A pretty girl like you shouldn't be wandering the streets alone at night – it's the least I could do. And I got to spend more time with you, so that's a plus."_

_Tori chuckled._

"_Well, thank you...Um, I guess I'll see you in school tomorrow?"_

"_Yeah..." Jade nervously bounced on the balls of her feet, which were covered by her classic black combat boots, "Hey, Tori. Can I ask you something?"_

"_Of course you can." Tori answered, curious to know what the slightly taller girl in the black leather coat wanted to ask._

"_Well, we've been hangin' out a lot and uh, I've been having a good time too...A really good time, you know? Um...I guess I should just spit it out...Tori," Jade took the shorter girl's hands in hers and looked into her eyes, "Would you maybe like to uh, go steady?...With me?"_

"_I'd love to!" Tori gasped, trying not to sound too eager._

"_Really?" Jade's studded eyebrows raised, almost in disbelief._

"_Of course. I've had a great time with you too and I really like you."_

_Jade ran her tongue across her lips and leaned forward to meet Tori's. Both girls closed their eyes for the quick couple of seconds of contact they had. They pulled away simultaneously and Tori's eyes were still closed as she was in a fog of bliss._

_Jade reached into the left front pocket of her tight, straight-leg black jeans and pulled out a small ring._

"_I wanna give this to you. You know, I see squares give their girlfriends pins all the time and I want you to have your own token. It's not as nice as a pin – hell, it's not even real gold or diamond – and you don't have to wear it if you don't want to, but it's yours." She grinned shyly._

_Tori reached over and took the ring, placing it on her right ring finger._

"_I love it, Jade. It'll never leave my hand." The shorter of the two craned her neck and gave Jade a peck on the left cheek, "I should head inside. Can't wait to see you tomorrow. Be careful riding home."_

"_Always am." Jade winked. Once she was sure that Tori was sure she was safely inside, Jade strutted back to her motorcycle, the corners of her lips turning upwards into a wide smile._

**-End Flashback-**

* * *

"Gee, Tori. That's a really cute story! By the way, how did you two meet? You've been seeing each other for over 2 months and I don't think you ever told me that story." Cat encouraged her.

"I met her at the candy store..."

* * *

**-Flashback: About 2 months ago-**

_Tori was alone in the local candy store, picking up some treats for herself and her older sister - Trina. Just as she reached for the last cherry lollipop, another hand lightly bumped into hers._

_"Oh, sorry." She chuckled. Finally looking up, Tori was met with a slightly taller than her, thin girl in a tight white t-shirt and black jacket. Her hair was black and wavy, ending below her shoulders._

_Upon seeing the girl, Tori slightly tensed up. She had never come in contact with too many people from the other side of town except for school, but from what her parents, sister, and friends have told her, they weren't to be messed around with._

_"You can take the last one." Tori said quickly._

_The other girl chuckled, used to people being intimidated by her tough appearance._

_"Nah, it's all yours." She smirked. Tori felt her heart melt a little at the soft features in front of her, "I'm more partial to the green apple anyway."_

_"Well, thank you." Tori nodded and grabbed the lollipop. She noticed that she was standing closer to the green apple flavor than the other girl, so she reached over and handed her the candy, "Here you go." She smiled._

_"Oh, thanks." The mystery girl was taken aback by the small gesture. Judging by Tori's high ponytail and clean clothes, she knew she was a rich square. Squares were never known to be outwardly courteous to people like her._

_"My name's Jade." She introduced herself before her brain could stop it. Tori looked down at the hand that was thrust forward, slightly smudged with faint streaks of black._

_"Whoops, sorry." Jade wiped her hand on her jeans, "I was working on my bike with some of my boys before I came here."_

_"Your boys?" Tori raised an eyebrow._

_"Yeah. They're goofin' off outside." Jade pointed to the window behind Tori. The taller girl turned to see 3 boys of about the same ages smoking cigarettes and laughing in the parking lot next to a couple motorcycles. One was shorter and dark skinned, the second was medium height with curly hair, and the third was slightly taller than the last and had hair that was greased back and combed through._

_"That's Andre Harris, Robbie Shapiro, and Beck Oliver." Jade informed the girl in front of her._

_"You __**know**__ them?" Tori had heard stories, but never seen the infamous teenagers in person before._

_"Yeah, we're close buds. Pretty much do anything I say, which comes in handy every so often."_

_Tori was intrigued._

_"How come I've never heard about__** you **__in any of the stories?"_

_"Eh, I like to stir up a little bit of trouble every now and then but I try to keep out of their major shenanigans."_

_"Hmm... Well, Jade. My name's Tori." Tori put her right hand forward and Jade shook it, "So what are you up to today?" She casually asked as they let go._

_"I dunno. Probably ride home and get some peace and quiet before my old man gets home." Jade shrugged._

_Tori took another look at the girl. She looked so strong and tough, but at the same time, like she could never hurt a fly. She said she doesn't like to get into __**too **__much trouble, so she can't be all bad._

_"Do you maybe wanna take a quick walk around?" She couldn't believe what just came out of her mouth, but there was a hint of something in her stomach that hoped Jade would say yes._

_"You...want to hang out...with me?" Jade clarified._

_"Yes." Tori answered simply. No turning back now._

_Jade glanced out the window. The boy's had each other. They could go one day without their "leader"._

_"Uhm...sure. I guess I could hang for a while." Jade pulled out a nickel and tossed it onto the counter while Tori grabbed two dimes and paid the man at the register. They walked outside and the three delinquents stopped their conversation to eye their friend._

_"Hey, Jade. What's with the square?" Robbie asked, shielding his eyes from the sun._

_"Can it, Shapiro. This is Tori. She and I are gonna hang out today. Go find some mischief or something." Jade waved them away. The boys sighed as they all mounted their motorbikes and sped down the street toward their homes, "Sorry about them. If you didn't know it, you'd think they were raised by wolves or something."_

_Tori chuckled and the two girls began their walk around the corner, with no particular destination in mind._

_They reached a park where they sat down and started talking, getting to know each other more. Tori found it surprisingly easy to get along with Jade, who was much more articulate and smarter than the stereotype her fellow "squares" have given the people from the other side of the tracks._

_Before the girls knew it, an hour later, the sun was setting and their conversation was nowhere near finished._

_"...So __**you**__ were the one who took Sikowitz's car apart in the parking lot?" Tori asked in amazement._

_"Piece by piece." Jade laughed. It had been one of the rare times that she pulled off something so drastic, but they always turned out to be the best memories. The taller girl glanced at the beat-up watch around her left wrist and perked up, "Oh chiz. I gotta get home. My dad's gonna be steamed." She shot up from her sitting position._

_"If you wanna walk back to the candy store, I could give you a ride home." Jade offered._

_"Didn't you just say you're going to be late getting back?" Tori was confused._

_"Well I'm gonna take the heat anyway. I might as well do someone a favor in the process."_

_"Take the heat?"_

_"Well, yeah. I mean, where I come from, everyone brings up their kids by smacking them around. Keeps them in line." Jade brushed it off as if it were nothing. Meanwhile, Tori was on the verge of mortified._

_"Your dad actually hits you?" She gulped._

_"What? It's no big deal. Don't sweat over it or anything."_

_"...Okay..." Tori let the subject drop. It was not her place to judge how people raise their children._

_The girls quickly arrived back to the parking lot and Jade handed Tori her helmet._

_"I've only got one, so you wear it."_

_"What about you?"_

_"You ask a lot of questions." Jade smiled. Tori just tilted her head in a serious fashion. "I ride without a helmet all the time."_

_Tori sighed, not wanting to argue with someone she had just met, and put the helmet on her head. She mounted the bike behind Jade and pressed her front to the other girl's back, blushing at the contact._

_"All right, now wrap your arms around my stomach. I'll go slow." Jade assured her._

_Tori did as she was told and slid her arms under Jade's and rested her hands on the girl's stomach. She gulped again, this time out of pleasant surprise, when she felt strong, toned abdominal muscles under the white t-shirt._

_As promised, Jade made the ride very easy for Tori, who tightened her grip at every turn, not even trying to hide the fact that it was her first time on a motorcycle. They arrived in front of Tori's house and Tori ungracefully got off the vehicle._

_"Thanks for the ride home. That was really fun." She took off the helmet at placed it on Jade's head before smoothing out her own hair._

_"No problem." Jade laughed, "I better get going. I have to be at my place ASAP." She looked at her watch again._

_Tori quickly rushed forward and hugs the girl in the leather jacket. Jade, not used to __**any**__ kind of affection was slightly at a loss of what to do, but awkwardly patted Tori on the back with her right hand._

_"Sorry." Tori pulled away, "I don't know why I did that, but let's forget that just happened...I hope we can hang out again sometime."_

_"Will do. I'll catch you later, Tori." Jade smiled and turned her bike around. She repositioned herself and started the engine with a roar. Tori waved once more and turned to enter her house. She looked back to see Jade disappearing around a corner at the end of the block._

**-End Flashback-**

* * *

"Wow, that's amazing." Cat was mesmerized, "It's like a fairy tale or something."

"Morning, ladies."

Tori and Cat turned around to see Jade in her signature outfit with a big smile on her face as she put her left arm around Tori's shoulders and brought her in for a 'good morning' kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, I was just telling Cat the good news!" Tori smiled.

"Pretty exciting, huh?" Jade sighed happily.

"I think it's great, you guys. I'm happy that you're happy."

"Aww, thanks, Cat." Tori put her hand on Jade's waist to pull her in for another kiss but was startled when Jade gave a slight wince.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, worriedly.

Not caring that she was in the middle of a public hallway, Jade lifted her shirt to reveal a large bruise that covered from the side of her rib cage to her lower stomach.

"It's gonna take a day or two to heal up."

"Did your dad do that?"

"Yeah. When I got home last night, he'd been drinking and we got into a bit of an argument. Nothing major." Jade tried reassuring her newly declared girlfriend.

In the 2 months that Tori had known Jade, she knew this was a regular thing. No matter how many times Jade told her to shrug it off, it always upset her to see the girl in any pain.

Tori pulled the shirt back down and gently rubbed her palm over the affected area, which seemed to soothe Jade's soreness for the moment.

"Better?" She asked.

"Much." Jade smiled and gave Tori a peck on the lips.

The school bell rang loudly throughout the building and everyone began to shuffle around, getting to their classes.

"I'll catch up with you at lunch." Tori hugged Jade before leaving with Cat to their first period.

"Hey, Jade!"

Jade turned around and saw the boy's walking toward her.

"Heard you made Tori your girl! Nice job, hot-shot!" Beck gave her a congratulatory punch on the arm.

"Hey, let's go grab some real breakfast at the diner." Andre suggested.

"All right, but we have to be back by lunch. I told Tori I'd eat with her." Jade said.

The boys burst out into fits of laughter and began making whip noises.

"Hey, cool it!" Jade put her hand up and they immediately stopped, "Can we just leave already?"

They quickly nodded and then the four teenagers left out the back door and down the street.

* * *

**-The Vega household: Later that evening-**

"But, Dad that's not fair!" Tori argued with her father at the dinner table. Her sister had been excused to go finish her homework, leaving Tori the opportunity to tell her parents about Jade. They did not take the news very well.

"Well, life isn't fair." Her father stated. He saw tears of frustration well up in his daughter's eyes and his voice softened, "Listen, honey. It's not that Jade is a girl. We can accept that... It's the fact that... She's been brought up in a completely different world than ours, you know? She's rough and tough, a troublemaker. I don't think that Jade would be the wisest choice for a girlfriend."

"She's nothing like you think, Dad. She's different. Jade is smart and she really cares about me." Tori put her defense up.

"You may think that, Tori. But in the end, people like her always end up hurting someone." Mrs. Vega piped up.

"She's just misunderstood." Tori said quietly.

"Sure. That's what they all say." Her father scoffed, "...You better stop this before it goes any further. Find someone else, Tori. There are plenty of people from _our _side of town you could be interested in."

"What? No! I don't want anyone else. I want Jade!"

"You end this, young lady." His tone turned very serious.

"Or what?" Tori challenged him, looking directly into his eyes.

"I know people around town. And if you don't break up with that girl tonight, I'll make sure she never comes around again." He put up a threatening finger.

Tori felt tears immediately well up in her eyes and her shoulders dropped. Living in Los Angeles all his life and being a cop a good portion of it, her father had made many connections, some sketchier than others, with people in the area.

Tori had no choice.

She walked out the front door and just as she stepped foot off the porch, Tori heard a clap of thunder and rain began to pour down onto her head. She turned around, silently asking her father if he could wait until the next day to do it, but he only stood his ground, staring at the window, which told her she had to do this now.

Tori sobbed on the whole way to Jade's house, which wasn't a long walk, but it was quite short either. As much as she tried to come up with something to say, Tori's mind drew a blank. Just 24 hours ago, she agreed to take the leap into her first relationship and now she has to end it because "daddy said so."

There were no words. Tori could not even fathom the thought of intentionally breaking Jade's heart, but it was either this or Jerry would get one of this friends to do God-knows- what to her.

Tori stopped at the house he had only seen from the outside. Jade did not want her to see her living space or her father, as she was embarrassed by both. Tori rang the doorbell and shortly after, Jade answered, her eyes almost popping out at the sight before her.

Tori was shivering on her doorstep, soaking wet from the rain.

"Oh my god, Tori. What are you doing here? Are you okay? What's wrong? Why are you crying?" Jade asked, her words coming out a mile a minute.

"C-c-can we t-talk outs-side?" Tori's body shook, both from the sobs and the cold.

"Uh, sure. Let me grab you something." Jade grabbed two identical jackets off of a chair behind the door and helped Tori into one before tossing the other onto herself, "So, what's wrong?" She spoke loudly over the rain.

"Jade...we have to break up!"

"Break up? Tori, it's barely been one day. I'm not _that_ awful, am I?" Jade tried to make a joke, hoping Tori would laugh along and tell her she was just kidding.

"I'm serious, Jade. I told my parents about us and they were really against it."

"Wait, so we're not even gonna try because your parents said 'no'?'" Jade's face scrunched in disbelief. Tears that were invisible in the rain ran down her cheeks when she realized exactly how serious Tori was being.

"I tried to change their minds, Jade. I really did...But my dad said that if I didn't stop this whole thing tonight, he'd send one of his connections to take care of you."

"What, your dad would put a hit out on me?" Jade asked, "He'd put a hit out on me..." She repeated, this time, more as a statement that answered her own question.

"I'm so sorry, Jade." Tori cried. She walked closer to her girlfriend and hugged her around the neck, bringing her close.

Jade put her hands on Tori's waist and returned the gesture. As they pulled away, Jade aggressively stepped forward into Tori's body, almost knocking her over with a kiss so full of passion, Tori's knees almost buckled right then and there.

Tori tangled her hands into Jade's wet hair, needing to feel her as close as physically possible. When neither girl could breathe any longer, they pulled away and back into their previous hugging position, tears freely falling from both pairs of brown eyes.

"Do you need a lift home?" Jade asked calmly.

"I'd be in so much trouble if my parents saw you drop me off. I'm okay walking back. I promise. Are you gonna be all right?"

Jade paused.

"I don't know. I was really looking forward to this. I really like you, Tori... I think I'm gonna take a ride. I need to clear my head."

"In this weather? Don't tell me you're serious." Tori begged.

"Please, I've biked in the rain hundreds of times. You know that." Jade reasoned.

Tori sighed, "Just be careful, okay? Helmet and everything."

"Of course...Goodbye, Tori." Jade said, walking to the side of her porch and taking the tarp off her bike. She fastened her helmet strap and guided the bike to the street.

Tori waved and watched the motorcycle begin to pick up its pace. At toward the middle of the long block, Jade was reaching a much faster speed than Tori had ever seen it go. She was just about to yell out for Jade to slow down at the intersection, when out of nowhere, a green Camero came shooting through, ignoring all traffic laws.

"JADE! LOOK OUT! JADE!" Tori yelled.

The biker's figure was illuminated for half a second before the sickening sound of metal crushing metal echoed through the otherwise quiet street. Tori watched in complete terror as Jade's body was thrown from the motorcycle, onto the hood of the car (which hadn't made any effort to slow down), where she was slammed into the windshield, and rolled at least five times over the roof of the car and onto the trunk, landing motionless in the street as the larger vehicle sped away. The totaled motorcycle had slid off into a gutter about 60 feet away. A large pool of red formed underneath the unmoving body, and this time, Tori's knees really did buckle.

She slumped to the ground with her right hand cupping her mouth and her left hand reaching out to Jade, yet there was not one ounce of strength in her to stand up. She had heard loud, hysterical, incoherent screaming and yelling throughout the whole ordeal, not knowing who it was. When Tori finally took a breath in, the soreness of her throat informed her that they were her distraught screams all along.

Neighbors came out to see what all the commotion that was going on, but none were prepared for what was just outside their houses. In 10 minutes, the police and an ambulance arrived on the scene. From the distance, Tori stared in shock as medics looked over Jade, then to the cops, have them a sad shake of the head, and the cops nodded. The medics draped a white sheet over the body, covering the face, and hoisted it up onto a stretcher, that was soon loaded into the back of the ambulance.

Tori waited as the sirens and lights faded away. She stood up and tried her best to smooth out her hair before starting her trek back home. She was in a state of complete shock - as if she was not a part of this planet. Tori felt like she was walking down an endless black path - no scenery, no light. Just blackness until she reached her front door, where she entered and immediately collapsed into her mother's arms, shaking with an uproar of newly found sobs.

* * *

**-A week later-**

Tori stepped foot into the school hallway for the first time in a week since Jade's death. Before, she was unable to even get herself out of bed, let alone go to school. She spent every night crying her eyes out because of nightmares and flashbacks and every day, she sat in her room with the lights off, lying in bed, imagining what her life would have been like if everything had gone well. She really believed that, given the chance, she and Jade would have made a great couple.

But now she'll never know.

"Tori." Cat came up behind her friend and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Tori sadly nodded, silently expressing her gratitude to the redhead for just being there. They shared a long hug and parted when the first bell rang. Tori sat down at her desk and stated at the small ring that was still on her finger. That ring and the jacket Jade put on her that night were the only objects she had to remember the girl by.

Tori slid the ring off of her slim finger and brought it to her lips. She kissed it and said a silent prayer for Jade before returning it to its place on her hand, where it would remain for the rest of Tori's life.

Just as she had told Jade it would.


End file.
